


Little Brother Knows Best

by Jane0Doe



Series: It Is Not A Child's Place To Care For Their Parents, And Yet So Many Of Them Do [1]
Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Caretaker Jason Todd, Dick Grayson is a mess, Instead He's Going To Give Other People Hugs, Jason Todd Needs A Hug, Jason Todd is Robin, Jason Todd is Traumatised, Jason Todd is a Better Parent Than Bruce Wayne, Jason is a Sweet Traumatised Summer Child, Mother Hen Jason Todd, Robin Jason Todd, and he is a child, but also concerning, this is adorable
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-18
Updated: 2021-02-17
Packaged: 2021-03-13 08:53:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29523915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jane0Doe/pseuds/Jane0Doe
Summary: He had thought given how cool and put together Robin always seemed when flipping around Gotham that Dick would be different to B and Alfie, that he wouldn’t need someone to look after him.
Relationships: Dick Grayson & Jason Todd
Series: It Is Not A Child's Place To Care For Their Parents, And Yet So Many Of Them Do [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2168931
Comments: 19
Kudos: 125





	Little Brother Knows Best

**Author's Note:**

> This Wip came together in a discord server, so I hope everyone else involved in making the idea enjoys this

Jason had expected a lot of things when he’d called the Academy as Bruce and told them he was sick before taking the bus to Bludhaven to meet his predecessor.

His older Brother.

A flat that looked to be in a worse state than the one he shared with his mama before he started cleaning it up for her was not it.

Soiled clothes, fast food containers and dirty dishes littered the floor, case notes - _both police and vigilante_ \- were strewn everywhere and something that looked similar to Bruce’s Batarang’s were piled in the corner for anyone to walk in and see.

The worst thing was Nightwing himself though.

Paper white, sallow skin; poorly concealed bruises and bags under his eyes that were so deep he’d thought them black eyes at first.

The terror that had swept through him when he looked at the man and couldn’t see his chest moving though…

In that moment it hadn’t been a near stranger or faceless hero in front of him but his mother, cold and dead on the bathroom floor.

It wasn’t until he found the man's pulse and confirmed that he wasn’t dead that he let himself relax slightly.

Not much, given the state of everything, but enough that he no longer felt like his heart was going to beat out of his chest.

He had thought given how cool and put together Robin always seemed when flipping around Gotham that Dick would be different to B and Alfie, that he wouldn’t need someone to look after him.

The man had moved out after all.

Then again Batman was terrifying and Alfred acted like a sensible person yet both of them needed him to take care of them. Even if they didn’t seem to think so.

At least his mum had understood she needed his help and let him take care of her, most of the time anyway. _Did her bad trips even count?_

Every other adult he’d met since she died seemed to be unwilling to even admit they needed help, never mind accept his and they didn’t have the excuse of being sick like mama did.

Not that he let that stop him.

He’d dealt with Mama at her worst and Willis when he was being... Willis. He could deal with stubborn vigilante’s and co. who didn’t know what was best for themselves.

With his mama still in mind he carefully pulled up the older man's shirt sleeves and felt most of his remaining tension leach out of him when he found no track marks. Sure, there are other places he could be injecting, if he was even using needles… what if- _no!_

Dick might be a mess, but he was also a vigilante.

He _knew_ the danger of drugs.

Besides, he had no reason to think that he was taking anything.

He was being silly.

Taking a deep breath and giving himself just a moment to find his centre, Jason looked around himself with an assessing gaze and began making a mental list of chores. He then separated that into things that couldn’t wait and things that could be placed on the backburner.

From there he got to work.

First things first, throwing out all the rubbish, specifically the mountains of take-out that cluttered the floor. He could even gather the dishes as he went for later.

Hopefully, with that all gone he’d be able to see at least some of the floor. He just needed to be careful, so that he didn’t throw out any of Dick’s case notes.

Then... the fridge. Jason wanted to believe that given Dick’s choice to eat out it would be empty, but something told him that it wouldn’t be.

It was half an hour later, rubbish all gone and floor somewhat clear that he found himself cursing his own predictions as he took in the state of what was once, possibly, a clean fridge. The only thing that wasn’t off was the milk.

The next hour was disgusting but worth it, he even managed to deal with the freezer too.

With that nightmare over he started gathering the laundry, sorting it as he went. He put the whites on first and set the Nightwing uniform- hidden halfway under the sofa- to soak before moving on to the dishes.

Thank god the man had a washing machine. Just because he could wash it all by hand, doesn’t mean he particularly wanted to.

Looking around and checking the time he left the flat, carefully locking the door as he did, and headed down to the corner store he’d seen on his way over.

Dick needed food. Proper food. Not the kind you got at a takeout place or the cereal he’d seen stuffed in the mans cupboard, nor the fancy shi- stuff that Alfred insisted was somehow better because it cost more.

Thank goodness he hadn’t gotten round to splitting this week's allowance between the girls and the soup kitchen yet, otherwise he’d have to use B’s emergency card and they’d know he’d skipped school.

Again.

He knew they’d work it out when he wasn’t there when Alfie came to pick him up tonight but if he could put off the B-man’s lecture for even just a few more hours then he would.

Besides, he still had things to do before he could leave Dick alone.

Clearly his big brother couldn’t be trusted to look after himself.

With the shopping done he managed to get back to the flat; unpack all the food; unpack and re-loaded the dishwasher and washing machine; and finally start cooking dinner- _stew_.

All the while Dick remained asleep.

Somehow.

Jason was quiet but he wasn’t that quiet. Not to mention that he was pretty sure Alfred had mentioned that the guy was supposed to be a light sleeper.

How tired was he?

It didn’t matter.

Jason couldn’t fix everything.

Not in only one day at any rate.

That just meant that he was going to have to start visiting the messy asshole more often.

He could live with that.

What he couldn’t live with was how bad could have gotten if he hadn’t visited today, how bad they could still get if he didn’t start checking up on him.

At best Dick would have continued on like this as if nothing was wrong, at worst… Jason didn’t want to consider the worst case scenario.

The very idea of it made him uncomfortable.

What if’s and could have been’s didn’t matter though, he was here and he would keep coming back as long as it took.

He would be here for however long Dick needed him, even if he didn’t necessarily _want_ him.

But that was something Jason could live with too. He was used to the people that needed him not wanting him around at the same time. Even his mom used to get tired of him sometimes.

Jason knew he wasn’t very likable.

But enough of that, he had floors, tables and sides to clean; a bedspread to change; a bathroom to inspect and he still hadn’t finished cutting the veg, let alone preparing the entire stew.

With any luck Dick could freeze the leftovers and have something filling to tide him over until the next time he could get away and visit the older vigilante again.

When he finally finished preparing the stew and had left it to well, stew; Jason turned to the sides that he hadn’t cleaned whilst he cooked and got to work.

By the time he was done the dishwasher had finished its final load; the washing machine was ready for its last load of clothing and Dicks Nightwing suit was ready to be rinsed, scrubbed and hung up to dry.

Getting those out of the way he turned his sights to the bedroom and wrinkled his nose in distaste.

It stank, not even opening the window helped fully.

The bed was definitely going to need changing. Maybe he could get away with burning the bedspread? No. Best not to push too hard yet.

The thing was still salvageable after all.

He’d just have to put it in the washing machine for a longer cycle.

Once the Bed was made, he made his way to the Bathroom and couldn’t help but feel his shoulders droop in relief as he took in the sight before him.

Evidently Dick was capable of keeping some parts of his life tidy.

Most likely, this was the area where Dick treated his injuries and stitched himself back together.

Keeping the room anything less than pristine would be suicide. If the infection didn’t kill him, _**Alfred** would._

There was still more that needed to be done but with only Half an hour to go before the stew was ready, Jason didn’t have a lot of time.

He needed to prioritise and so instead of trying to tidy something else he headed towards the lavatory and started to fill the tub. A quick look at the shelves made it clear which bath scents Dick preferred most, so it was just a case of adding a bit of each to the water and watching the bubbles form.

With that last task done and 20 minutes to spare, all he had to do now was wake Dick.


End file.
